This is True Stories, where you’ll meet the people that anchor True Fabrications! Check out our last profile here, and check back soon for more True Stories and Dogs of True!

Name: Angella W. (a.k.a. Alien Angella)

Job Title: Graphic Designer

Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA

Time at True: 3 years

Favorite place in Seattle to take visitors: The White Horse Trading Co. in Pike Place Market. It’s a dark and cozy British style pub that looks like an I Spy book. The ceiling and walls are covered in random objects like swords, keys and flowers. You might even get a chance to meet the owner’s Irish Wolfhound – the largest dog I’ve ever seen!

Favorite True product: TheBeerzilla Bottle Openers and Moby Whale Bottle Opener. The red bear-devil is always stuck to my fridge and I keep Moby on top of a stack of vintage books. One of those books is titled The Whale. I thought it was funny.

Approximate number of True products in your house: 26 proprietary items not including wine bags!

Favorite drink: I’m a sucker for the sweet stuff. Manischewitz, sweet tea with vodka and lemonade, and anything with Bailey’s or chocolate liqueur. Basically I drink candy.

One unusual item on your desk: Work desk – lumpy, adorable animals made out of silicone putty. Home desk – a miniature cabinet of thimbles.

Favorite moment at True: At our 2014 holiday party, a bunch of my True friends made it snow for me! I jokingly said that I wish it would snow a few weeks before and, like Santa, they made it happen by hand cutting paper into a million “snowflakes”. McKenna even cut her finger by accident and bled on a few snowflakes – a true testament of friendship. They sat me down on a chair and gently dumped it over my head. It was magical.

Song stuck in your head right now: The one I just made up. It doesn’t have words.

What’s the last thing you took a picture of? My dog Curie on the beach!

With customers across the United States, we carry products from producers nationwide, to ensure that everyone can not only sample all sorts of new and different items, but also find their own favorite local brands wherever they’re ordering from. For our own part, we love stocking our pantry shelves and bar carts with cocktail add-ins and mixers from the Pacific Northwest. Check out a few of our favorites – the ones we recommend time and time again no matter where you’re from.

Scrappy’s Bitters: Based right here in our hometown of Seattle, Scrappy’s is a truly handcrafted brand. It was founded by Seattle bartender Miles Thomas, who was simply convinced that bitters could be better. Using nothing but organic ingredients, eschewing oils, extracts and anything artificial, and zesting every shred of fresh citrus by hand, Scrappy’s inspects each and every batch meticulously before it receives its number. From grapefruit to lavender to cardamom to classic aromatic, every flavor packs a punch that takes cocktails to the next level.

Tillen Farms: Tillen Farms was founded in Washington’s fertile Yakima Valley as Hogue Farms, in connection with award-winning wine producers Hogue Cellars. When the wine label was sold to a much larger international distributor, longtime employees Tim and Helen Metzger kept the Farms operation local, changing its name to Tillen (a combination of the names of Tim, daughter Jill, and Helen) while maintaining its original recipes and focus on quality products. All of Tillen’s products are delicious, but the Crispy Asparagus, Hot and Spicy Beans, and juicy Bada Bing cherries are always local favorites.

Demitri’s Bloody Mary Seasonings: Hands down some of the best bloody mary mixes we’ve tasted (and we’ve tasted a lot), Demitri’s line of 100% naturally flavored mixes offers something for everyone, including those who like their mary super-spicy (Chipotle & Habañero) and those who prefer an additional peppery flavor kick (Chilis & Peppers). You can also order rimming salts (Original or Bacon flavored – pretty hard to choose). Demitri himself got his start as a bartender in Seattle in the 80s and still calls Seattle home – we were thrilled when he stopped by to say hello during our HOST FREEZE launch party in September!

Everyday Gourmet: Everyday Gourmet operates out of Gervais, Oregon as a division of Bell Foods, which began its life in 1962 as one of the Willamette Valley’s largest cherry farms. Today the team is still going strong, constantly picking, pickling and packaging the best produce that the bountiful river valley has to offer. We especially love their all-natural Burgundy Maraschino Cherries (try them in a Manhattan), Spiced Green Beans and Spiced Pickled Asparagus.

Check out our complete line of mixers, food items and chocolates here!

Over here in Seattle, the city is practically dyed blue and green – the Seahawks are headed back to the Super Bowl! Gearing up for Sunday’s game, wide swaths of the region and nation alike are busy planning Super Bowl parties and menus.

On the drinks side, 12-themed beers, wines and spirits have surfaced from producers across western Washington (with a surprise nod also coming from Sixpoint Brewery in New York), and all make welcome additions whether you’re hosting a party yourself or bringing something to share. Check out the following:

Hilliard’s The 12th Can: The first brewery to answer local sports radio station KQR 950’s call for a beer dedicated to hardworking 12s, Seattle’s Hilliard’s launched their 12th Can before the start of last year’s Super Bowl-winning season and ended up producing about 12,000 cases of the pale ale in that season alone – nearly eight times as much as they expected to brew. This year, they brought the can back with a bet that the Hawks would go all the way again. They also noted that the brew “pairs well with victory.”

Dick’s Brewing Company 12 Man Pale Ale: Another pale ale brewed “for the fan,” Dick’s Brewing Company’s 12 Man American Pale Ale is a popular local choice in pitchers and cans alike thanks to a low price point and widespread availability from September through February.

Sixpoint Brewery Beast Mode Porter: Across the country, on the outskirts of Patriots territory in Brooklyn, New York, Sixpoint has brewed a nod to the Northwest in its Beast Mode Porter, a dark, rich, complex and powerful take on the style.

Northwest Cellars Adagio and Serenade: Paying tribute to the pair of small earthquakes caused by stomping, cheering Seahawks fans during playoff games against the New Orleans Saints in 2011 and 2014, Northwest Cellars‘ fan labels include the quakes’ actual seismographic readings. The 2013 Adagio is comprised of Sauvignon Blanc balanced by Chardonnay, while the 2012 Serenade is largely made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. (Take advantage of this handy Super Bowl food and wine pairing tool to see what both the white and red will accompany best!)

White River Distillers 12 Whiskey, Gin and Vodka: Enumclaw’s White River Distillers offers a 12-themed rye whiskey and vodka of their own, and added a gin to the lineup as well. “Created by 12s for 12s,” the labels feature blue and green reflections of the Seattle skyline.

Heritage Distilling Company Batch No. 12 Bourbon, Rye and Vodka: Heritage’s Batch No. 12 line includes bourbon, rye and vodka. Both of the whiskeys (a fan can’t help but notice) are bottled at 92 proof – 12 above average.

Favorite True moment: My favorite True moment didn’t actually happen at True but with my best friend from True, Oakley. We spent a weekend at my cabin in Shelton, Washington this summer, swimming and sunbathing the entire time. Oakley is terrifically athletic! I’m a little jealous…

(That’s Oakley swimming.)

(I prefer boating myself.)

Favorite activity: Snuggling, sleeping and hanging out with my humans.

(My humans are almost as pretty as I am! That’s Taylor, second from the left.)

Signature trick to get attention: Playing dead – everyone always pulls out their cameras to film me, they’re so impressed by my acting talents.

(How could you not want this face on film?)

Worst trouble I ever got into: One day my brother, Tristan the chocolate lab, knocked a huge unopened bag of pepperoni sticks down from the kitchen counter while my humans were out. When they came home they found me lying on the ground with the very last pepperoni stick in my mouth – I was so full that the most I could do was suck the juices out. My humans thought I was in a pretty pitiful state as is, so I didn’t get any additional punishment – my tummy was in the biggest trouble!

(I’m in the middle – Tristan is in front, oblivious to the camera.)

Fun fact: My fur used to be sleek and shiny but I had a bad reaction when I underwent anesthesia for a surgery, and it caused my fur to poof out like crazy. This (among a few other things) is why my family calls me Crazy Lady or Donna Pazza!

Follow me on Instagram @LadyLouMartin, and check back on the True Blog soon to meet my fellow #DogsOfTrue!

Any given week or weekend, there are what seem like countless wine, beer and spirits festivals taking place across the country. The following is just a smattering (by no means complete) of some of the best local, regional and national beverage festivals, conferences and trade shows in the U.S., including a few notable international events. Whether you’re interested in attending seminars, tasting, networking, expanding your skill set, making business connections or simply having a great time, there’s something for absolutely everyone in 2015.

31: International Great Beer Expo – “The biggest names in international brewing will unite in cities throughout the Northeast” including Philadelphia, PA on May 30 and Long Island, NY on November 7. – Secaucus, NJ

February

6 – 8: Coffee Fest Atlanta 2015 – The first Coffee Fest in an annual series that continues June 5-7 in Chicago, IL and Oct 23-25 in Portland, OR. – Atlanta, GA

7: Cider Summit Chicago – The Cider Summit series also includes events in San Francisco (Apr 25), Portland and Seattle. – Chicago, IL

10: WhiskeyFest Chicago – “The longest-running and best-attended whisky festival in the U.S. [with] a selection of more than 300 whiskies from around the world.” Continued in New York, NY (Sept 24) and San Francisco, CA (Oct 30). – Chicago, IL

8 – 9: WhiskeyTown USA – In its third year of exploding popularity, what was originally Whiskey Fest Northwest has been rebranded as WhiskeyTown USA and will continue opening its doors to an ever further-reaching audience. – Portland, OR

14 – 18: Vinexpo 2015 – For the first time ever, the massive international conference and exhibition will highlight a “special guest” country – this year, the U.S., “because it is the number one consumer market for wines in the world.” – Bordeaux, France

15 – 19: Tales of the Cocktail – “Five days of seminars, tastings, product launches, competitions, networking events and so much more at the world’s premier professional cocktail event.” – New Orleans, LA

19: Autumn Brew Review – The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild hosts one of the state’s largest beer fests, which brings over 100 breweries and over 3,000 attendees from across the U.S. – Minneapolis, MN

19 – Oct 4: Oktoberfest – The 182-year-old event is the world’s largest festival of any kind. – Munich, Germany

20-21 – Tokyo International Bar Show – In only its third year, the international event brings together many of the world’s best bartenders and bar owners for a variety of programming including the Nadeshiko Lady Bartending Championship. – Tokyo, Japan

24 – 26: Great American Beer Festival – Founded in 1982, this annual event “represents the largest collection of U.S. beer ever served.” – Denver, CO

At long last, the results are in. You’ve been waiting patiently to find out the winners of our Holiday Design Competition, and we’ve been deliberating them right down to the wire.

It was incredibly tough to choose from among so many fantastic submissions of wine bags, gift bags and greeting cards alike, and we would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who participated in the contest. With input from a panel of True Fabrications representatives and industry experts, we considered every entry carefully before reaching our final decision. As promised, here are the competition winners!

First Place:Gift bag by Lilia B. (Burbank, Calif.)
Lilia will receive a $1,000 cash prize, and her design will go into production to be featured in our Holiday 2015 paper goods collection.

Favorite drink: Dirty Belvedere martini (bleu cheese olives please!) is usually my go to, but my BFF recently turned me on to bourbon (I love Eagle Rare) with a splash of soda and a dash of bitters with lime. Also wine. Red, red, wine. Okay, I like to drink.

You’ve been procrastinating and you know it. Don’t worry.For one thing, you’re not the only one. For another, there’s still time to get awesome gifts for everyone you know in time for Christmas.

The most failproof presents are food and beverage accessories, because everyone loves and needs to eat and drink. As such, we’ve compiled our favorite epicurean gift guides of 2014. Here, you’ll find many of our products as well as a whole host of other great gifts. And while many of the items featured are made by other companies, we make or distribute many of them ourselves as well (like the bottle writing pens and giant glass on Wine Awesomeness’s list, Spin-The-Shot and whiskey stones in Sur La Table’s guide, or Scrappy’s Bitters as featured by Food52). So check to see if we’ve got what you want, and remember, order them throughour website by 3pm and we’ll ship it out the same day! (That’s all year round, too.) Happy shopping!

We’ve been posting festively pretty images of our favorite gift-worthy Twine items (plus a few other products) for #12DaysOfTwine over on our Twine LivingInstagram since last Monday. Watch for a complete post on the Twine Living blog this Friday featuring all the products and the basics of wrapping and giving a beautiful gift.

Of all the national holidays we celebrate with glasses raised, one day is more deserving of that fanfare than all the others.

December 5th marks the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition – the 81st anniversary, as of 2014. The enactment of the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933 was one of the greatest milestones in American history, marking the only time a constitutional amendment (the Eighteenth) has been repealed.

Prohibition was a time unlike any other in the United States. What began in the late 19th century as advocacy for temperance quickly became a drive toward teetotalism that would cleave a nation, turn law-abiding citizens to lawlessness, drive governmental crime and corruption, fund astonishing levels of gang violence, spark a monumental shift in social customs, especially for women, and profoundly shake public faith in federal institutions. It spawned speakeasies, generated the word scofflaw, and fanned the careers of people like Lois Long, a writer and socialite in New York City whose illicit escapades into Prohibition’s kaleidoscopically colorful nightlife the rest of the city followed ardently.

Consequently, its rescission demonstrated a national willingness to accept and remedy misguided policy, returned funding to a government in straits, and rekindled a national industry and traditions whose legacies carry on today. Yet for decades – up until about eight years ago, when Portland bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler began officially championing the reinvigoration of Repeal Day – December 5th passed almost unnoticed.

Morgenthaler, who had been encouraging his patrons to celebrate Repeal Day for years, began using his blog in 2006 to publicize the date, which he felt far more people ought to fete. Reaching out to like-minded industry bloggers and bartenders across the country and beyond, Morgenthaler began to build a small but stalwart support for the cause, which quickly snowballed.

Today cities from Seattle to Chicago to Washington, D.C. commemorate December 5th with parties, decor, drink specials and general revelry, and while the movement is still gathering steam, it seems a likely candidate for imminent adoption by the masses. After all, who doesn’t want another excuse to celebrate?

Today, spread the word to customers and coworkers alike – for most people, all it takes for them to get in the Repeal Day spirit is knowing about the occasion. And after work, we recommend gathering your friends, popping a bottle of wine or champagne, pouring a mugful of foamy beer, or kicking back with classic cocktails – because you can. Cheers to Repeal Day!

‘Tis the season for friendly competition! We’re having a Holiday Design Contest open to all you talented designers in the holiday spirit. Design a wine gift bag, standard gift bag or greeting card, and your design could win you $1,000 in cash – and a chance to be featured in our Holiday 2015 paper goods collection!

DEADLINE: JANUARY 1st, 2015

First Place: $1,000 cash prize

Second Place: $300 cash prize

Third Place: $150 cash prize

Submitted designs will be judged by a panel of True Fabrications experts and some of the industry’s most respected retailers in wine and spirits. Coverage of the competition designs will be featured here on our True blog and on our Twine Living blog. Winners will be announced on both blogs on January 15, 2015.